Ramanuja: The Three Promises
Maha Purna had no time to waste. He had to get to the city of Kanchipuram as quickly as possible. Purna’s acharya—the esteemed Yamunacharya himself—had instructed him to bring some young man named Ramanuja to Srirangam.
Maha Purna had no time to waste. He had to get to the city of Kanchipuram as quickly as possible. Purna’s acharya—the esteemed Yamunacharya himself—had instructed him to bring some young man named Ramanuja to Srirangam.
The deafening roar of a raging lion filled the vicinity of the riverbank. A heavily pregnant doe felt as if her heart had plummeted into her stomach. Her breathing became heavier every second. Overcome with panic she spontaneously leapt across the Gandaki River to escape. As she flew midair, her premature fawn fell out, landing in the caressing water. But as the exhausted and depressed doe’s black hooves met the river’s other bank, she released her final breath.
In the simple town of Sriperumbudur, the house of Keshavacharya and Kantimati was lit up in celebration of their radiant newborn child. Kantimati’s brother Srishaila Purna, the direct disciple of Yamunacharya himself, came to adorn the baby boy with the name Ilayazhvan, who would later be revered as Bhagavad Ramanuja.
The words of his guru, Uyyakondar, reverberated in Manakkaal Nambi’s mind.
“My own guru, Nathamuni, has a grandson living in the Pandya kingdom,” Uyyakondar had said. “It is your duty to bring him back to our Srivaishnava fold when the time is right.”
Knock. Knock.
Yamuna was puzzled. His teacher Bhashyacharya was away, and all his classmates had gone home. He was the only student at the school. Who could be visiting at this inconvenient time?
He went forward and opened the door, anyway. The person on the other side glared at him.
“It was you?” Devala asked, his fingers flying to his chin. “I thought a crocodile had caught hold of me. What were you thinking?”
Gajendra charismatically ushered his herd to the nearby river. Like any honorable leader, the elephant king patiently waited for each one of his subjects to quench their thirst.
At last, Gajendra waded in and began drinking. As he gleefully frolicked in the river, he suddenly felt something sharp in his feet.
Indradyumna had experienced enough of his worldly and materialistic life as a king. The Pandya ruler wanted to spend the remainder of his life immersing himself in the worship of Sriman Narayana.
The beautiful sight of the Govardhana hill welcomed Nathamuni as he woke up from a good night’s sleep. The Srivaishnava yogi quickly got up, remembering his delightful dream. Nathamuni’s family deity, Kaattumannar, had appeared and instructed Nathamuni to return to his hometown. As per Kaattumannar’s instructions, Nathamuni immediately left for Veeranarayanapuram along with his wife,…
Neither the burning heat of summers nor the torrential downpours of rain disturbed the steadfastness of the couple’s penance.
Sutapa, the son of Brahma, and his wife Prishni were assigned as progenitors. Their duty was to populate the world.